


Master Healer

by captain_xann



Category: DBSK | Tohoshinki | TVfXQ | TVXQ
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-23
Updated: 2015-11-23
Packaged: 2018-04-22 23:37:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4854965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captain_xann/pseuds/captain_xann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the 28th day since his departure from the island, Changmin settles into a new routine.<br/>One that is vastly different from his short islander life.<br/>Life that included a loyal, stonic, stubborn, determined and extremely talented Master Healer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Changmin The Tribute

Changmin was 18 when he was enrolled into the life of servitude. 

It was an arrangement of political interest, one where Changmin was willing to sacrifice his own personal interest for. 

His family lived in the islands to the west, plagued with famine and disasters, war torn and on the brink of ruin, the island chieftain recruited young men and maidens to put together a tribute to the lord of the northern kingdom, in the hopes for food, work and military support. 

The return for volunteering had been a promise of protection and pride. 

His family will be promised food and his sisters will never have to be hungry again. 

Changmin had never been the type of have dreams of what could have been, he's been conditioned by his harsh environment to be practical and logical. 

The offer for servitude to the strongest kingdom guaranteed supplies, naval support and food that the island is always scarce on. 

The idea of trading in a hungry and bleak future for one where he can protect his family was in his mind, an extremely logical and practical option. 

One where he finds was really a god sent. 

Changmin is a boy that has nothing to give to the strongest kingdom in the land. Except for a will to work, a brilliant mind and a hand for the caring of animals.

His role in the tribute had been that of a potential healer apprentice, one that cares for the kingdom's best military horses. With the Northern kingdom's vast military might and the master healer's impossible expectations, good apprentices were few and far between. 

Changmin was determined to survive his apprenticeship. He's heard of many stories of the famed master healer, most of them unkind and laced with scorn, anger and jealousy, others peppered with awe and amazement. Changmin doesn't care for stories. He knows he's been given the long end of the stick and he's determined not to bring shame to his family and his island. 

On the 28th day since his departure from the island, in the rising heat wave of the mid day sun, Changmin and the rest of the tributes arrived in the kingdom to the north.  
It was a kingdom of dreams, built on great leadership, wealth and excess. 

For a simple island boy like Changmin, it was beyond anything he can ever imagine. Even in his wildest dreams, he could never have been able to dream up such grandeur, much less see it realized with his own eyes. 

One by one the tributes were ushered into the kingdom. They were freshened up, given a new set of clothes and were fed and assigned to their roles for the rest of their lives. 

The Northern kingdom is known by many names, some in spite, others godlike, but unjust and ill-treating they were not. 

In the dusk of the 28th day, Changmin was brought into the stables to familiarize his new home going forth.  
Changmin's guide was a young stable boy called Taemin, youngest son of a family of farmers down south, sold to the stables for a bag of grain during the harshest winter 3 years prior. 

Changmin feels for the boy and in the short time they've spent together, felt that he's starting to admire the boy, for a boy at his age, Taemin suffers no spite nor anger, just an impossibly infectious attitude towards the present and hopes for his future. 

Changmin wonders if he'll ever be gifted with such a wish.  
A future that is worth him living. 

At the end of the guide, Taemin ushers Changmin to the gates of the king's stables, telling Changmin that there is one more person he needs to greet before opening the doors to a room full of books, scriptures and a man sitting on a desk filled with paper and instruments head bent low immersed in reading earnestly. 

In the flicking lights of dwindling candle light flames, the man looked both serene and yet impossibly distant and unreachable. 

Changmin feels an instinctive boundary drawn between him and the man. In the split second, even without knowing who he is, Changmin knows he must never cross the line with the man, he is a man who's imposing aura fills the room instantly. 

Taemin looks at Changmin knowingly with an encouraging smile, gently pushes Changmin forward to be formally introduced. 

"Master Healer, I've brought in the new apprentice for your review." Taemin speaks softly and formally to the imposing man in the room. 

The man looks up from his scriptures and Changmin immediately stampers in his greetings in as formal a language as his short islander education has taught him, "Master Healer, my name is Shim Changmin, I will learn well." 

The man nods his head and returns back to reading his scriptures. 

Assuming to be dismissed, Taemin gently ushers Changmin to depart, just as they were about to close the door to the room, the man comments "Shim Changmin, if you are not serious to learn, I suggest you leave immediately." 

On the 28th day since his departure from the island, Changmin watches the door close on him, signalling the end of life as he knows it.


	2. The Routine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changmin settles into his routine as the apprentice

On the 100th day since his arrival into the Northern Kingdom, Changmin finally settled into his daily routine. 

His day begins before the crack of dawn, preparing the feed for the young foals and horses that were recently purchased and added to the herd. 

Living in the island has its perks it seemed. Growing up with plenty of vegetation and plantations, Changmin is able to identify and remember all the different herbs and vegetation that are tailored for each particular feed. His sharp eye has at one time stopped a whole barrel of potentially poisonous feed from being sent to the young foal division and killing the entire division. 

The Master Healer was livid when he heard about the news and he was in an extremely thunderous mood the entire day. The feed preparer was reassigned to another division and Changmin assigned to help the newly promoted feed preparer with his new task. 

After the feed is prepared and allocated to each division, Changmin then sets out to help saddle up the wild horses for breaking and to be the water boy for the trainers. Horse breaking is an extremely dangerous activity and Changmin is never allowed to be near the horses or the trainers during the training. 

He's witnessed many injuries to know that this is one area that should never be treated lightly. 

Changmin's day breaks with a short meal time with the rest of the trainers. His relative calmness in the chaos, overall attentiveness, sharp eye for detail and quiet demeanour has been nicely welcomed in the otherwise stressful and strong-headed training division. 

The trainers love him and treat him like a son or a little brother, and when they were given extra meat after every successful horse is taken up by the military trainers, Changmin would be given a small portion. Changmin's wide grin was highly infectious, and over time, many trainers would give him small portions of their own food to just catch him smiling. 

Changmin's routine ends with a team walk for all young yearlings. Yearlings ages younger than 1 year old are generally hard to handle and easily distracted, all the young apprentices are tasked to look out for sickly or destructive yearlings that are either put to sleep or quarantined for further inspection by the Master Healer. 

Changmin have always liked the team walk, having already building a friendship of sorts with a few yearlings.

He is concerned with one particular yearling, having found him slower and unable to catch up with the rest of the team. Changmin knows the yearling will be put down if it continues to be a burden, so unbeknownst to everyone, he's taken an extra hour out of his own rest time to walk the yearling and mixed in more herbs for its feed. 

Changmin did this every day for 1 month, unbeknownst to everyone. 

To everyone but the Master Healer's sharp eyes. 

Changmin's day finally ends at half past midnight, with a gentle candlelight flame by the corner of the cottage he's sharing with Taemin and the other new apprentices, Changmin writes a letter for his family, attaching a dried flower for his sisters and a prayer for everyone's safety. 

Letters are collected once every month and sent back to the families of the tributes should the naval army route near to the island. 

In the moonlight night of the third full moon since he arrived in the kingdom, Changmin goes to sleep praying for his family's health and safety and for his yearling friend to be stronger soon.


	3. Yunho - The Famed Master Healer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At 20, Yunho was given the grand title of the Master Healer, the youngest in the history of the Northern Kingdom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lets take alittle time to look into Yunho's Backstory

"The Master Healer is such a strict man!"  
"He's too young to tell me what to do! I've been training horses longer than he's been alive!"  
"He's only got the title because he's friendly with the king"  
***

Yunho hears all these criticism on a constant basis.  
It's lesser now that he's older, or perhaps the people have learnt to be smarter and not say it within his hearing range.

Yunho has never let the comments bothered him too long, from young the man has tuned all negative comments into his own personal driving force to prove people wrong.  
Somewhere along the line he found his passion for healing animals and the driving force became even stronger, though it’s not to prove people wrong anymore, but more to himself.

Yunho is a fixer.  
He’s also one the reason the word Stubborn was created.  
He will not give up till he finds the reasons to issues and answers to problems.

At the age of 12, Yunho was the lead apprentice in the healer section for the King’s private horses.  
With an eye for detail, actual concern for the horses and unorthodox healing methods, Yunho soon found himself to be within the King’s vision and the rest of the healer section’s jealous vibes.

At the age of 17, Yunho saved the little crown prince’s favorite stallion from an accident that would have otherwise paralyzed it.

The little crown prince, who was inconsolable for days was so overjoyed, he decreed Yunho to be his stallion’s saviour and his best friend.

While most people would leverage on their new found status, Yunho continued to keep his formalities and decorum, remaining a loyal subject instead of the best friend the little Crown prince proclaims, much to the little spoilt Crown Prince’s frustration and the Queen mother’s amusement for there is no other person in the kingdom who could curb the little crown prince's temper tantrum but Yunho and his indifference to tantrums.

His awkward friendship with the little Crown Prince further deepened the King’s favorable impression of him and Yunho soon found himself to be on the fast track of promotions and nobility titles.

As much as people sneer at Yunho out of jealousy, no one can deny his talents for healing.

He is the best in the Northern Kingdom, and try as they might, no one can outwit or out heal him.

At 20, Yunho was given the grand title of the Master Healer, the youngest in the history of the Northern Kingdom.  
There was no one else who was more ecstatic than the Crown Prince himself, who wanted to throw a big party for Yunho only to have the idea die an instant death with a glare from the newly appointed Master Healer himself.

Through the years, their friendship grew in strength from the many common ideologies that they shared.  
But the one thing Yunho insists upon, was for the Crown Prince to never give him the preferential treatment.

The Crown Prince on the other hand, is as sneaky and smart as Yunho is proper and loyal and managed to, out of sheer luck one day found out that Yunho was the weakest at drinking the Northern Kingdom’s famous ale, and through a series of persuasions and mild threats, managed to make a drunk Yunho sign off on a contract for him to be informal with the Crown Prince whenever the Crown Prince deems fit, much to the exasperation of a very hung over Yunho the next day.

Yunho swears never to drink again.

  
Yunho was tricked into drinking again 2 days later.  
***

By age 24, Yunho’s exhausted 20 apprentices.  
None of them were good enough for him. They were either too lazy, not fast enough, not determined enough.  
Just not enough.

“So that’s number 20,” the crown prince commented offhandedly as he loiters around Yunho’s manuscript room casually, judging every single horse anatomy drawing Yunho has ever attempted, “You can’t expect them to be like you”.

“Artillery Horse number 24 has a side sore on his thigh and that could be a tumor that…,” Yunho mumbles to himself as he scribbles yet another funny looking diagram that only he could decipher in his stack of notes, very obviously ignoring the crown prince’s existence.

“You are going to run yourself to the ground working this hard with no help! As a friend and as the Prince I command you to take this night off”

“But I can’t! Nooooo!!! Let me go!!” Yunho wails uncharacteristically while clutching the ends of his working desk as the crown price drags him limb by limb from working desk towards the main quarters.

Yunho wakes up with a hungover the next day.  
***

At age 25, someone finally came into Yunho’s vision.  
He was careful, calm and meticulous.

The best part was that he cares, he cared for the young foals enough to use his precious rest time to train the foal personally, braved enough to stop his superior from feeding a whole feed of poisonous herbs to the entire section of younglings, smart enough to pick the exact dosage of uncommon herbs to strengthen the weakened foals, quiet enough to not demand for credit when the yearlings grow in strength and gets picked up for training as the front end battle troop. 

At age 25, Yunho relearns the name of his new potential apprentice.

  
Potential Apprentice in training number 21, born of the western islands, eldest son of the village gardener, the 88th tribute to the Northern Kingdom, Shim Changmin.


	4. The Apprenticeship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The famed Master Healer was known to be cold, arrogant, collected, strict and unforgiving, loyal and relentless.   
> He’s also known to have a temper to rival the wildest of horses and is the only person in the entire kingdom that can stare down the Crown Prince and live to tell the tale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the extremely late chapter.   
> Was caught up with work and school and the whole nine yards.   
> Rest assured that the Final chapter will be up by end of the month!   
> Once again comments is love ;)

The famed Master Healer was known to be cold, arrogant, collected, strict and unforgiving, loyal and relentless.   
He’s also known to have a temper to rival the wildest of horses and is the only person in the entire kingdom that can stare down the Crown Prince and live to tell the tale. 

This was not the same Master Healer Changmin saw when he found Yunho one morning, 18 days into his direct apprenticeship.   
Yunho was sleeping with his head on a pile of manuscript, mouth wide open, hair in disarray and in 4 day old clothes.   
He’s been combing through manuscripts for the last few days without rest, after an outbreak of a mystery illness that has been paralyzing the front line horses. 

Changmin treads slowly and quietly as he places yet another stack of the requested manuscript on the Master Healer’s desk. He looks at the Master Healer and feels for the Healer. He’s seen the look a thousand times from his father when he’s exhausted from working 3 jobs to put food on the table for the family.   
Uncharacteristically, Changmin steps in to sweep the wayward hairs off the healer’s face and help snub out the candle that’s been threatening to burn through his desk. 

The Master Healer looks very young and yet also very old, Carrying on him burdens far heavier than anything Changmin has known.   
Changmin can only hope to be of help and less a hindrance.   
Changmin decides to slowly step away from a resting Yunho, thinking back fondly and sadly at the people, places and the life he no longer leads.   
*** 

Some time later, Changmin finds Yunho all scrubbed clean, not a hair out of place and a frown etched deeply on his face. Something else is bothering the Master Healer and Changmin’s arms carries yet another set of bad news he’s sure the Master Healer doesn’t want to hear. 

“Master Healer, I’ve delivered the reports from the trainers of section 21. They have reported that 6 of the 20 horses are exhibiting shortness of breath and 2 of them have already fallen ill and unable to stand up” 

The Master healer breathes out a deep sigh. He knew it was coming. The mystery illness is spreading faster than he hoped and with no clue whatsoever on what is affecting the horses, Yunho feels like a candle burning on both ends. 

4 days of fitful sleep and 3 missed meals also meant that Yunho is not faring any better than the horses that worry him. He stands up almost too suddenly and promptly falls back on his knee with a loud thud, the world spinning uncontrollably, stomach wrenching. 

Changmin, ever watchful was by Yunho’s side the moment he saw Yunho sway. 

“Master Healer!” Changmin quickly holds on to Yunho before he hurts himself further or hit himself on the head.   
Yunho holds on tightly to Changmin as he wrenches out whatever that remains in his stomach before passing out in cold sweat.   
***

Yunho was out for 2 days before he finally woke to the moonlight on the full moon of the 10th month. Tired, weak and thirsty, Yunho was barely able to open his eyes before small droplets of water was placed on his lips. When Yunho was able to muster enough energy to open his eyes, he’s vision clears to a concerned looking Changmin with a small bowl on one hand and spoon on the other. 

“I have made some soft porridge for you, do you think you can take a few spoonsful before I send word to the royal physician? ”   
Yunho nodded, not believing he could speak. His throat is as dry as the northern desert and though he doesn’t feel hungry, he loathes to waste Changmin’s effort. 

Changmin slowly sits Yunho up, propping him on mountains of pillows and fussed over Yunho for a over 5 minutes fluffing up pillows and arranging them so he is all cradled nicely in a warm cocoon before he started feeding Yunho slowly with the warm porridge, gently blowing on it to ensure the spoonful of porridge is not too hot and gauges tentatively on whether Yunho will throw up before feeding him the next bite.

Yunho doesn’t really taste anything, going through the motions of eating as he would normally – inhaling his meals.   
Life as the Master Healer offers little luxury on time and if Yunho spends 1 minute less eating, he’ll spend 1 minute more healing. His temper is a result of his bad gastric pains that were a result of his bad eating habits. 

But as he is being fed, his habit of simply swallowing was hindered by a raised eyebrow and an unimpressed stare from his apprentice. Instead of the usual bad tempered glares that he’s used to giving, Yunho feels strangely sheepish, being caught and chastised by his apprentice in the most non-verbal way. So he slows down his bite, actually tasting his food and realizes the porridge actually tastes really nice and soon, the entire bowl is finished. 

“This porridge is really delicious, thank you Changmin ah” 

“My mother use to make this when my dad fell sick from overworking. The herbs are very gentle to the stomach so its ideal for your situation.” 

“You cooked this? By Yourself?” Yunho was shocked, no one in the kingdom knew how to cook, well they didn’t have to, the cooks in the palace does a good job. 

“Is it not ok?” Changmin asks tentatively, suddenly afraid that he may have crossed the line and disobeyed the laws of the palace by treading over his domain. 

“No, I mean. It’s ok, no one I know cooks, well after the Crown prince’s attempt to cook 8 summers ago nearly burnt the entire east wing no one else has tried to cook” Yunho replied, half smiling from the memory of the crazy antics of his Crown Prince, half amazed and half scandalized that he was a participant of that escapade. 

“Oh, ok” Changmin breathes out a sigh of relief. Hearing Yunho mentioned the Crown Prince reminded him of his promise to the Crown Prince to inform him personally the moment Yunho wakes up. 

He only hopes the Crown Prince doesn’t fault him for feeding Yunho first. 

Changmin fusses over Yunho for another 5 minutes covering him with thick blankets and more pillows and even a small tiny pillow filled with warm soy bean husks he made himself to place over Yunho’s tender stomach. 

Yunho drifts into a peaceful slumber as Changmin leaves to inform the Crown Prince, contented and full, clutching the home-made soy bean pillow gently near his heart.


	5. The Partnership

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 4 nights of rest after the fateful day Yunho collapsed in Changmin's arms, he finally has enough energy and vitality to get out of bed to walk around the compound, stretching his aching limbs and breathing in fresh air.

The Crown Prince spent the next 2 days holed up by Yunho’s side to just make sure Yunho was really ok, and to Yunho’s frustration, also prevented him by order of decree to not work for 2 days and just rest. 

When the Crown Prince had royal duties to follow through, he orders Changmin to keep an eye on Yunho, giving him permission in the 2 days to overrule his supervisor’s instructions. 

Changmin steers clear from the Crown Prince and the increasingly  grumpy  Master Healer, though the grumpier Yunho gets also meant that he's getting well enough to fester  enough energy to be annoyed at the extremely attentive/annoying Crown Prince. 

During the day when the Crown Prince is taking care of the Master Healer, Changmin leaves to continue with his work, ensuring the younglings are fed properly, documenting the new  symptoms of illness the horses and calming the worries of the trainers and herders who were genuinely concerned about the Master Healer's health. 

As much as everyone fears the Master Healer, the ones who follow him, follow him through and through, loyal to a fault, much like the Master Healer himself. 

Changmin ends his day these days with a trip to the youngling's rest area.  
He's always love the younger animals, even in his island days.  
Something about their earnestness to explore life, untainted by experience and knowledge, helplessness much like himself at times always draws him to them, wanting to protect them as much as he can. 

It is on this day that he is devastated to find one  of the younglings falling sick,  lying down on their sides as horses don’t often do. 

From days on the turbulent island,  he knows animals  as young as this will not survive the night, much less the illness.  
Much of Changmin's life is shaped by the customs of the island, from herbal remedies to superstition and rituals of old wives tale.  
Olden gardener rituals beckons the burning of sage leaves to lessen the pain of the ones who fall ill and many times Changmin follows his father to perform the ritual  af ter  the destruction the typhoon season brings. 

He performs the same ritual now, burning small amounts of sage leaves near the weaken youngling, hoping it lessens its pain and brings it comfort before the imminent death. Changmin prays not for pardon of death, but for the ease of passing.  
He hums a gentle lullaby passed down from his mother, that was passed down from his mother's mother, gently caressing the youngling till it falls into it's deep sleep. 

Early next morning, Changmin goes in with a herder, prepared to bring the body of the youngling out to be buried only to find the same youngling up on it's leg and while not full of life yet, not displaying any signs of sickness from the day before.  
Changmin is baffled beyond believe and checked three times that it’s the same youngling before sitting down still dumbfounded at the turn of events.  
He was so sure the youngling would not make it, but yet here it is, eating the carrots he brought with zest , alternating between carrots, feed and the remaining sage leaves Changmin burnt last night. 

"Sage leaves.  SAGE! OF COURSE!!" Changmin shouts to  no one  in particular, scaring the younglings and the new tributes that came off the boat 3 days ago.

Sage leaves have been used for rituals because olden superstition have beckon it to be a bringer of light, able to ward off evil spirits. 

All young boy before they were able to go through the ritual of adulthood were given a pouch of dried sage leaves, believing it will protect them from soul  snatchers  in the night. 

More than curious on this fancy tale, Changmin speeds across the stables with a bag full of sage towards the sick horses' stables. 

***

4  nights of rest after the fateful day Yunho  collapsed  in Changmin's arms, he finally has enough energy and vitality to get out of bed to walk around the compound, stretching his aching limbs and breathing in fresh air. 

It is during one of his stretches that he finds his apprentice, running towards him, looking strangely dishevel ed , curly hair falling out of his topknot but a smile as bright  as the morning sun, a smile rivalled only  by the  sparkle in his eyes, "Master Healer! MASTER HEALER!" 

*** 

In the end it seems old wives tales have some scientific truth to it. 

The illness that struck the animals in the kingdom were brought forth by the bacteria found in the common island mice, that were somehow brought back from the islands from which the vast naval army conquered. 

Burning of the sage leaves, specifically the eastern island sage leaves  creates enough smog to smoother not just the bacteria into hibernation  but the mice that hosts it. Eastern island  Sage leaves itself also has a anti-toxic remedy that can neutralize the  bacteria and the combination of burning and feeding on the leaves eventually saves ¾ of the entire sick horses. 

A full month after the first horse fell ill, Yunho and Changmin documents the recovery of the last sick horse. 

Yunho has been very quick to give credit where credit is due, though Changmin likes to think he was merely lucky. 

"Luck has nothing to do with it Changmin, you could have shrug it off and went on with your routine, waiting for someone to find the cure, yet you did not, you took the  liber ty  of testing out your theory before letting anyone shut it down, you believed, you tried, you did what you could, and that is not luck" 

"But it is by sheer miracle that Yunho has just praised you my little apprentice! Never have I ever heard of the picky grumpy Master Healer ever praising anyone, I must have heard wrongly, or I am still dreaming! Yunho pray tell me which is it?" The cheeky Crown Prince exclaims dramatically having arrived quietly despite the vast array of fanfare in which his  encourage  of 16  servants  and maidens bring along. 

"Master Healer , as the Crown Prince, I come bearing news from the king, having saved the horses in the kingdom, you  and your apprentice have now been bestowed the title of the Royal Master Healer " The Crown Prince says with a smile, "Changmin, you will now be known as the Royal apprentice, Yunho will decide when it's time for you to get your full healer title, but till then, you are still an apprentice " 

Changmin smiles, a wide smile paired with slightly mismatched eyes, a smile so genuine and pure both Yunho and The Crown Prince's heart skips a beat. 

On a whim, the crown prince adds, "And as the Crown Prince  I  also decree that you are given the same benefit as my best friend Yunho, you must call me by name when not in public, Changmin, you are to call me Siwon when we are away from public ears" 

***

The years go by in a flash, forging relationships through  friendships,  loyalty through trust . 

It doesn't take long for the Royal Master Healer to trust Changmin with all of his life, sharing knowledge, burdens,  responsibilities, drunken nights with the crown prince and occasional bouts of  illness that plague the northern kingdom. 

Hand in hand, by each other's side, through the ups and downs, there's nothing that can quite  falter the duo. 

In the later manuscripts documenting the  golden years of the Northern Kingdom, the Royal Master Healer and his Apprentice number 21 was listed as the Kingdom's best , fabled stories told on starry nights by the open fire, under the ever constant  Cassiopeia  constellation,  forever alive and together  through the words and writings of men. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments and love given to this story.  
> This is my first chaptered fic and I cannot thank everyone enough for the encouragement given :)


End file.
